Small drops (1-10 mu l) of two nematic liquid crystals were spread on the surface of freshly cleaved mica. Their rates of spreading and the apparent dynamic contact angles were measured as functions of time using a contact angle goniometer. From the experimental results, we argue that the elastic effects influence spreading rates for both wetting and nonwetting liquids. In addition, the apparent discontinuity in the orientation of the director at the contact line appears to represent a key feature that influences wettability and wetting rates. In particular, they tend to change a wetting liquid to a nonwetting liquid, provide added volume dependence in the wetting rates and can show in a few cases a reversal in wettability during spreading.